Watch: “The Reason We Have Google and Facebook Today Is Because of Antitrust Enforcement Against Microsoft”

In an interview with the Chicago Booth Review, Stigler Center Director Luigi Zingales spoke about the importance of competition.

Luigi Zingales

“Competition is the essence of what makes a capitalist economy work,” said University of Chicago Booth School of Business Professor Luigi Zingales (director of the Stigler Center and one of the editors of this blog), in an interview with the Chicago Booth Review.

In the interview, Zingales spoke about the effects of rising concentration. As an example, Zingales mentioned Google, which now holds enormous influence over the regulation of issues like privacy and data.

“The reason we have Google and Facebook today is because of antitrust enforcement against Microsoft that slowed down the ability of Microsoft to monopolize the internet,” he said. “Today’s monopolies are yesterday’s startups. In a good system, this keeps changing. A system where this does not change is a system that is fossilized and hurts everyone.”

Watch the full interview:

Disclaimer: The ProMarket blog is dedicated to discussing how competition tends to be subverted by special interests. The posts represent the opinions of their writers, not those of the University of Chicago, the Booth School of Business, or its faculty. For more information, please visit ProMarket Blog Policy.